The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Media coverage of sporting events may be in the form of video, audio, data, pictures or a combination thereof. Media coverage may comprise coverage of the game itself or other media related to the sporting event, such as spectator reaction to the event. The media coverage may be displayed to a viewer in real-time, where coverage of an event is displayed almost instantaneously after the event occurs, or at a later time such as in response to a user selecting to view a replay of the sporting event or a portion thereof.
The media coverage may comprise portions of different media captured by different media sources. For example, the first ten (10) seconds of video coverage of a particular football game may feature a video recorded by a capture device associated with a first video source, a video camera positioned at the San Francisco thirty-yard line partially facing the Green Bay end zone. The subsequent ten (10) seconds of the video coverage may comprise a video recorded by a capture device associated with a second media source, a video camera positioned at the Green Bay thirty-yard line partially facing the San Francisco end zone.
According to one approach, a game media operator selects the appropriate media source for different portions of the game while viewing the sporting event, either during live viewing or by viewing media coverage of the sporting event. For example, each media source may send a live feed of the media being recorded by the media source to the game media operator. The game media operator may view the media feed received from each of the media sources continuously throughout the game and, for each moment of the game, the game media operator may select the best media source for the corresponding moment of the game. The game media operator may select the media source(s) based on a determination that the game action occurring at that moment is most clearly visible in the media recorded by the selected media source(s). The media associated with the selected media source may be delivered to the viewer.
However such an approach is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and error-prone. If the game media operator acts quickly, the operator risks choosing a media source that provides sub-optimal coverage of the game. On the other hand, if the media operator choses carefully, the time delay between occurrence of game events and delivery of media coverage to the user increases. Furthermore, the selection process requires intense concentration required for the duration of the sporting event. The selection process is also not personalized with respect to viewers or end users. Improved techniques for selecting and delivering the best media coverage of sporting events in the fastest manner possible are needed.